Historic $1.6 billion Mega Millions drawing set for tonight

Typically, the Mega Millionslottery sells $40 million dollars worth of tickets a year in Washington.

The cutoff time to buy your Mega Millions ticket in Iowa is Tuesday at 8:59 p.m.

Check your numbers: victor announced in record $1.6 billion Mega Millions lottery, the largest jackpot in the history of the game.

Yes. Canadians can cross the border to buy tickets, but you'll have to check the laws of the state you're visiting.

Mega Millions has already smashed its own jackpot record, which was $656 million, shared by winners in three states in March 2012. Chances of winning the jackpot are one in 302,575,350, according to the Mega Millions website.

That puts the jackpots for the nation's two largest lotteries at more than $2.2 billion.

If it seems like lottery jackpots are getting larger and larger, it's because they are getting larger and larger.

I'll never win, but you gotta give it a shot. But as is usually the case when it comes to the lottery, the biggest victor will be the government. Almost all winners opt for cash, but the annuity has advantages, as it reduces the tax bill a little and offers a stable flow of income that climbs by 5 percent annually.

The annuity comes with big tax advantages, because it's like leaving your money with the government to invest on your behalf, and the government doesn't pay tax on the investment returns. If no one wins tonight, the jackpot could roll over to a mind-boggling $2 billion.

The last time someone hit the jackpot was July 24, when a group in California won $543 million.

Keith Schoen, a clerk at the Neighborhood Grocery, said there were a lot of Mega Millions lottery sales on Friday.

If there is more than one victor, the jackpot would be divided proportionately, as happened in 2012 with a Mega Millions jackpot of US$656 million, a lottery official said.

States have generally reported increased Mega Millions and Powerball sales since the change.

RECCOMENDED STORIES

Mega Millions, Powerball jackpots total $1.3 billion
Excitement had already mounted earlier this week as many speculated whether the Mega Millions jackpot would hit a new record high. Here's how Mega Millions used to work: Players picked five numbers from 1 to 75 and a Mega number from 1 to 15.

Saudi Arabia has 'no intention' of 1973 oil embargo replay
If US crude drops below $US65, a psychologically important figure, that could trigger further technical selling, traders said. Washington is largely depending on Saudi Arabia to fill the gap left by the loss of the Iranian barrels.

Storm Callum passes with relatively little impact
The strongest winds are likely in western Ireland, although North Western parts of the United Kingdom can expect severe gales. A series of weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office, stretching from north west coast of Scotland to Land's End.

CDC: Mysterious paralyzing illness reported in 22 states
The condition is not new, but officials started to see a rise in cases in 2014; and there was another spike in 2016. The surge has baffled health officials, who on Tuesday announced a change in the way the agency is counting cases.

Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson Are No Longer Engaged
However, Grande expressed via social media that she was having a hard time recently while she called off several appearances too. - TMZ is reporting singer Ariana Grande and actor Pete Davidson have called off their engagement .

This is what Hurricane Michael looks like from space
Authorities are correcting early reports about the death of an 11-year-old girl as Hurricane Michael blew over southwest Georgia. As predicted, the storm's intensity diminished steadily as it pushed inland and curled northeasterly into Georgia after dark.